Simple RTSP server. Easy configuration through the web interface. Stable.

Flashing this software on a esp32cam module will make it a RTSP streaming camera server. This allows CCTV systems and applications like VLC to connect directly to the ESP32CAM camera stream. The RTSP protocol also allows to stream directly to a server using ffmpeg. This makes the module a camera server allowing recording and so the stream can be stored on a disk and replayed later.

This software supports the following ESP32-CAM modules:

• ESP32CAM
• AI THINKER
• TTGO T-CAM

This software provides a configuration web server, that can be used to:

• Set the WiFi parameters,
• Set the timeout for connecting to the Access point,
• Set an access password,
• Select the board type,
• Select the image size,
• Select the frame rate,
• Select the JPEG quality

The software provides contains also a mDNS server to be easily discoverable on the local network.

• ESP32-CAM module
• USB to Serial (TTL level) converter or the piggyback board ESP32-CAM-MB
• PlatformIO software (free download)

More information can be found at: https://docs.platformio.org/en/latest/installation.html below the basics.

Install platformIO

 sudo apt-get install python-pip
 sudo pip install platformio
 pio upgrade

Install Visual Studio code and install the PlatformIO plugin. For command line usage Python and PlatformIO-Core is sufficient.

When using the ESP32-CAM-MB board, press and hold the GP0 button on the ESP32-CAM-MB board. Then press short the reset button (on the inside) on the ESP32-CAM board and release the GP0 button. This will put the ESP32-CAM board in download mode.

When using an FTDI adapter, make sure the adapter is set to 3.3 volt before connecting. Use the wiring schema below.

After programming remove the wire to tge GPIO00 pin to exit the download mode.

Open a command line or terminal window and clone this repository from GitHub.

git clone https://github.com/rzeldent/esp32cam-rtsp.git

go into the folder

cd esp32cam-rtsp

Next, the software has to be compiled. Type:

 pio run

When finished, make sure the ESP32-CAM is in download mode (see previous section) and type:

 pio run -t upload

When done remove the jumper when using a FTDI adapter or press the reset button on the ESP32-CAM. To monitor the output, start a terminal using:

 pio device monitor

After the programming of the ESP32, there is no configuration present. This needs to be added. To connect initially to the device open the WiFi connections and select the WiFi network / accesspoint called ESP32CAM-RTSP. Initially there is no password present.

After connecting, the browser should automatically open the status page. In case this does not happens automatically, connect to http://192.168.4.1. This page will display the current settings and status. On the bottom, there is a link to the config. Click on this link.

This link brings up the configuration screen.

Configure at least:

• The WiFi network settings. No dropdown is present to show available networks! Enter the Access point name manually.
• A password for accessing the Access point (AP) when starting. (required)
• the type of the ESP32-CAM board

When finished press Apply to save the configuration. The screen will redirect to the status screen. Here it is possible to reboot the device so the settings take effect. It is also possible to restart manually by pressing the reset button.

RTSP stream is available at: rtsp://esp32cam-rtsp.local:554/mjpeg/1. This link can be opened with for example VLC.

Please be aware that there is no password present on the stream!

When a connection is made to http://esp32cam-rtsp the status screen is shown. Clicking on the configuration link will open the configuration. It is possible that a password dialog is shown. For the user enter 'admin' and for the password the value that has been configured as the Access point password.

esp32cam-ready depends on PlatformIO and Micro-RTSP by Kevin Hester.